Valve Amplification Company Renaissance Signature II VAC Preamp w/ phono

I am the second owner of this VAC Renaissance Signature II preamp with phono stage, buying it from the original owner in 2010. This unit has performed flawlessly for me the entire time, and it sounds wonderful, offering VAC’s characteristic balancing act of greater resolution while maintaining harmonic fullness. It is very hard to beat the sonic performance of both the line stage and the phono stage of this preamp, and the two together are a stellar combination. I am replacing this preamp now because my Lampizator Golden Gate DAC has a fully functional volume control already built in making the line stage redundant, and I purchased a stand alone replacement phono stage at considerably greater cost.

In strict accordance with Audiogon's rating system, I am rating this preamp 6 out of 10 - - it is in excellent condition in all particulars except two: the clear coat finish around one of the two meters on the Power Supply has cracked (hence the "6" rating, see photo that accurately shows it) and the "Cinema" wording on the remote has had the "C" partially worn off through years of thumbs rubbing on it (see other photo). Beyond that, this unit is perfect. (I had never noticed the cracking on the finish of the power supply faceplate until I removed it from my rack and examined it closely. I am rating it pretty severely, but I have always been conservative in my ratings, as my feedback demonstrates.) I have the two original shipping cartons that pack the two boxes very securely, the remote control, and also the manual.

Regarding tubes, the preamp comes with a fresh matched pair of NOS Amperex 8416's in the line stage portion, and a fresh pair of RFT 12AU7 that only do buffer duty for the tape loop. The phono stage section comes with a compliment of 12AX7's selected by Jim McShane for best performance (one pair of Sovtek 12AX7LPS tubes matched and selected for extremely low noise at the first stage of amplification, and 4 Tungsol 12AX7's matched for the final two stages). I will also include 3 extra pairs of NOS Amperex 8416 tubes for the line stage section.

This is a beautiful unit in all particulars. Check my lengthy membership with Audiogon and my stellar feedback, and buy with confidence. Priced fair to sell.

Buyer covers shipping fees, and I will only ship to continental US. Since this product requires two shipping cartons, I did not fill out the Shipping info; but plan on two 25" x 25" x 13" cartons, one weighing 41 lbs. and one weighing 45 lbs. I can ship via UPS or FedEx, at your preference.

Thanks for looking, and happy listening!